Maya Hofstadter
by Sophie The Shipper
Summary: ' Sitting in the middle of her parents she smiles at both and gives them her hand. Her parents look at her and smile. The trio looks to the camera when they hear Raj saying 'Say Cheese' ' Life was easy when her dad was there. Maya missed him. Leonard shows up in Flashbacks (The good moments in Maya's life). [All the characters appear]
1. Beginning

**I don't own The Big Bang Theory or their characters. I only own Maya Hofstadter.**

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Maya Hofstadter was used to not having her father. She was used to have to see her friends buy a gift for their father on father's day and getting home and pretend she was okay with it. She was used to be teased about not having a dad. Her friends used to protect her from things like that but it still hurt. Her father had died when she was still young. She knew he had loved her very much and she was one of the reasons why he fought what took him away from Maya. Her mom was heartbroken when it happened and barely spoke about it. Maya doesn't remember much only that her dad was sick and tired but whenever she was around he put on a brave face. She missed him and she knew her mom missed him too. Her mom always loved her dad very much and always regretted not being with him sooner.

It was on days like today that Maya missed him even more – her birthday. Since her dad didn't have birthday parties growing up, he always made sure she had birthday party and friends over. It was a happy moment and memories she loves. But on her 16th birthday all she wanted was to stay home, curled up in one of her dad's old sweatshirts she kept and watch old videos. She had her tissue box ready and popcorn made when Halley Wolowitz showed up.

"Come on M! You can't just stay here! Let's go to the mall! Come on. We'll get Luke and Charlie and maybe Rachel would want to go as well. What do you say?" Halley said, hopeful

"I'd say… Leave my room please!" Maya said not really hearing what Halley was saying. She loved her as a sister but she just wanted to be alone.

She knew her dad wouldn't want her to be like this. He always made sure that his girls weren't alone. Her mom stayed a lot of time with Bernadette – which made Maya be on that house so much and be such good friends with Halley – but Maya didn't always wanted company. She sometimes wished to be alone for a while but seemed like she was the only one. If her mom wasn't with her someone else was – usually Halley.

Everyone tells her that her dad used to be like that to. But it wasn't the only thing they had in common. Just like her dad, Maya was lactose intolerant and has asthma. She also was a bit of a geek – also because of her being around Howard, Raj, and Sheldon and also because of Bernadette and Amy. Her mom usually complained about the movies just like Bernadette and Amy did at first. But while her aunts stopped complaining her mom kept doing it. Her dad was the only one who actually knew her mom loved those kind of movies. He had told her he had once caught Penny reading a comic book – but she denied it.

She also gets car sick but unlike her dad she only gets sick if she's not behind the driver's seat. Her mom used to joke that she is a little version of her dad but when he died that joke stopped. Maybe that was why her mom was always at Bernadette and Howard's. She didn't want to be around her daughter because she reminded her of her husband.

When Halley finally left Maya started to think of what her dad would say. She then thought of her dad, when he was 16, without friends to be with. 'He would absolutely love to go out with friends'

"HALLEY!" Maya screamed. Halley ran to her room and looked to her best friend.

"What is it?"

"Call them. Let's go!"

"Really?" When Maya nodded she kept talking "Change clothes and meet me downstairs in 10!"

"Don't you think you need to talk to the others?"

"Nah… I have already talked to them yesterday" Laughing Halley goes wait downstairs leaving Maya changing her clothes.

When she was going to leave she looked to the picture hanging on the wall. Feeling the tears on the corner of her eyes she wants to leave but her legs don't move.

Halley heard her cry and goes to her room. Quietly, she opens the door and hugs her 'sister'. When she feels her stopping she lets her go. Looking at her she sees her red eyes looking at the picture. Smiling she asks

"Want me to cancel?"

"No. Don't. I'm fine. Let's go"

"No. Look at me. What's wrong with the picture?"

"That was taken on the last birthday with my dad." Maya's words hit Halley hard. Not knowing what to say she seats on the floor looking at the picture.

"That picture is 9 years old, Halley. But I still remember that day like it was yesterday."

 ** _Flashback_**

"Hey, Birthday Girl" Leonard tried to wake his sleeping daughter. Next to him, was his wife Penny smiling from ear to ear. They both were. On her hand there was a cupcake with a candle.

Moving her again, Leonard 'threats' her to call the tickle monster. Maya bites her lip and keeps pretending to be asleep.

"Well then. 1…2…3… That's it, girl!"

Her dad throws the covers to the ground and starts tickling his daughter. Laughter fills that room. It takes about 2 minutes until they all stop.

"Happy Birthday, Bu."

After the parents sing Happy Birthday, Maya blows the candle and sits on the bed eating the cupcake. They talk about small things, from how Maya used to be when she was younger to what the cake tasted like.

They get ready for the lunch they were having with the gang. Maya wanted to use her pink tutu and a pink shirt. Penny said no and, as always, Maya looked at her dad hoping he would let her.

"Sorry, butterfly but you have to listen to your mom."

"But it's my birthday today!" 7 year old Maya says

"Doesn't matter. Trust your mom. She says smart things, you know." Leonard kneels next to his daughter and whispers "Judging by her closet she also knows something about clothes." They both giggle and Maya gives her dad a kiss on the cheek.

"What was that for?""

"Nothing. I love you, daddy."

"I love you too Princess"

Penny looks to their interaction and smiles. Maya sees that and whispers her dad to put her on his shoulders. Doing what his daughter said she asks to get close to mom. When she reaches her destination she kisses her mom and tells her 'I love you to mommy'

For that she receives an 'I love you too, sweetie but you're not taking the tutu.'

After a puppy look – other thing she had in common with her dad, the ability to get almost everything she wanted with that look – and the promise to give a kiss for a whole month she still wore what her mom wanted her to.

They went to the restaurant and after everyone hugged her and wished her happy birthday they went to a park where Halley, Archie and Maya could run around.

 ** _Pause Flashback_**

"I remember that!" Halley says. Seeing the look on Maya's face "Sorry. Go on"

 ** _Continuing Flashback_**

"Hey kids, come sing Happy Birthday!" Bernadette yells. The three run to their family and after singing and eating the cake they ask if they can come back

"Sorry Maya, just sit with your parents for a minute." Raj asks

"Why?"

"I want a picture. Come on you look so pretty today."

"I always look pretty." After everyone smiled at her and nodding with their head in agreement "But okay. I'll do what you ask. But only because you asked nicely!"

Sitting in the middle of her parents she smiles at both and gives them her hand. Her parents look at her and smile. The trio looks to the camera when they hear Raj saying 'Say Cheese'  
After a couple of photos Maya runs back to the swings with her cousins.

 ** _End of Flashback_**

"I loved that day." Maya says with the tears back in her eyes

"Me too." Halley says. She tries to hide the tears but she couldn't. She also missed her uncle. He was like a second dad to her. Always made sure she wasn't alone when Archie was born. Both of their dads were always together playing videogames with Sheldon and Raj, which made Halley learn things she really didn't think she needed to know about video games. She loved going to his lab when she was a kid. Sometimes when she goes there to see her dad she still wanders to his lab, still empty even after so many years because the principal felt like no one was good enough to be there. Everyone loved him and felt like something was missing when he left. Halley knew how hard his death was on her family. But when she was a kid she wasn't sure of how much she could miss him. That carried through her life. She knew there was always someone missing him more. Either his wife or daughter, so she always tried to help them both.

Everyone missed Leonard. He was always ready to help anyone and was the person everyone talked to whenever they needed to talk about something.

He was always ready to help. That's why when he died, a part of everyone died with him. Maya and Halley lost their innocence. Halley was like a daughter to Leonard. When her brother was born everyone paid attention to him. Leonard noticed that Halley was being forgotten so he took care of her. She loved to be with him. He was like a second father to Halley.

When Halley found out Leonard was going to be a father, she thought she was going to be forgotten, just like she was when Archie was born. Leonard sat her down and swore he was never going to forget about her. He kept that promise. When Maya was born, he always tried to be with the two of them. Halley helped her second dad take her of her cousin and she learned how to take care of a baby. Even though she was only three years old, she still learned things about babies she had no idea of. Like how much they cried and how that was annoying. But she took care of Maya like the Big Sister she was.

Leonard always said that Halley was Archie and Maya's big sister. And she loved them and took care of them. She protected them. Because you take care of family.

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 **Read &Review**

I couldn't take this off my head, so I wrote it. I don't know what to write on my other stories. No idea when they are going to be updated.  
This is not going to be a One-Shot. This will be a story where I'm going to show Maya's life when her dad was alive and she was happy and some parts of the stories will be in the 'present' where Maya is 16 years old and Leonard isn't alive. She's not happy and she misses her dad. I'll show how much his death impacted the gang. There can be chapters where I just talk about one character and others where I talk about the relationships between everyone. Past and Present will be shown and this fic will have a lot of sweet flashbacks to make sure this story isn't only sad.

Hope you enjoy it!


	2. Sister's Day

**I don't own The Big Bang Theory or the characters. I only own Maya and Archie.**

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One day, Halley was home watching TV with Archie. The doorbell rings and Bernadette answers it. An energetic 5 year old Maya enters, followed by Leonard and Penny. Maya quickly runs to the living room and gets in front of Halley, with things on her hand.

"Hey, Maya, you're in front of the TV!" Archie yells. "Move!"

But Maya doesn't care. She continues to stare at Halley, waiting for her to say something.

"What's going on?" Bernadette asks

"I don't know" Penny answers. For the last few days, Maya has been waiting for the 4th of August. No one knew why and she didn't say why either.

"Maya? Want to watch TV with us?" Halley asks.

"I have something for you!" An excited Maya says. Off Halley's questioning look Maya continues. "You don't know what day today is do you?"

"It's August! I never know…" Halley answers. She only knows what day it is when is school time. On the holidays she never knew what the day was.

"Here!" Maya hands a teddy bear and a card to Halley.

"What's this?" Halley asks, looking down to the card.

"Open it!" By now, Halley was jumping from the excitement

Maya opens the card and starts reading:

 _Happy Sister's day! You're my favorite sister! Love you Halley!_

"That's today?!" Halley asks. Maya enthusiastically nods. Halley quickly jumps off the couch and runs upstairs. The adults look at each other, not knowing what's happening. They hear Halley coming back to the room, with a card and candy.

Halley hands the card to Maya, who quickly reads it. It was the same card Maya wrote, the only difference being that it said Maya. The girls hugged each other and Maya takes the chocolate box and, without asking her parents if she could eat them, she opens the box and gives a chocolate to Halley.

Archie extends his arm, to receive a chocolate too, but the only thing he got was a yell from Halley.

"This is not for you!"

Archie looked sad so Maya hugged him

"Don't worry. Whenever it is Brother's Day, I'll give you a gift!" Maya said, smiling

"And when is that?" Archie asks, hoping it was soon

Maya thinks for a minute. She gets no where

"I have no idea! But we can try to find out!" The three smile at each other, while the adults look at each other wondering what was going on there.

Sister's Day was celebrated every year, but they never celebrated Brother's Day because they didn't find out when it was. Archie didn't care, because he started to celebrate Sister's Day with his favorite girls. He was the one who reminded them what day it was. Even after so many years, that day was still celebrated with chocolate and cards.  
They kept all the cards in a box. The chocolates were shared between the three, and they always ended up sitting on the porch in Howard and Bernadette's house, eating chocolate, telling stories and watching the stars. As the years passed, the night ended with stories about Leonard and the three stopped talking to each other and looked at the stars, wondering if their dad was watching at them and was proud. They all thought he was. They then would get in the house, one that became home to themselves and their family, and would look around. Everything was still the way it always was. They had pictures everywhere and the adults ended that day with stories from before Halley was born.

That day existed to celebrate the bond between sisters. But in their family, that day celebrated the bond that, even after everything that happened, still remained in that group.

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 **Read &Review **

I want to show the relationship between the three kids – Halley, Maya and Archie. This story will show the bonds between everyone and how a family dealt with the loss of one of their beloved members. I sincerely hope I make the characters justice. Tell me ways to improve the story, my writing or the way to show the past and present.  
Remember, I'm writing this story. What's in my head doesn't _always_ enter the story, and I'm not sure if the story is going to be understood. So if you're not understanding something please ask. I will try to change!

 **By the way, sorry for the short chapter! The next one will be bigger!**


	3. Valentine's Day

I decided to write a Valentine's Day special. Hope you all like it!

 _Also, special thanks to_ **thebigbangtheoryfan2007** _who writes incredibly well and always makes me wish there were more chapters in every story I read. Everytime I see a story written by you I get so excited! And also thanks for saying I write amazing stories!_

 _And a special thanks to everyone who reads my stories. If it wasn't for you there wouldn't be any stories(because there wouldn't be anyone who would actually read them).I love writing because not only it takes me to a different world (which comparing to this one, it's way better) it also takes my mind off life and school. It makes life a_ _enjoyable experience. So thank you!  
_

Now with the story... _  
_

 **I don't own The Big Bang Theory or their characters. I only own Maya.**

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 _The Past_

Leonard goes to pick his daughter from school. She isn't smiling like she usually is when she sees her dad. Leonard doesn't ask anything on the ride home. He puts some music on, thinking that would sheer her up. But it doesn't.

They finally get home. Maya runs to her room and starts to cry. Hearing his daughter's cries Leonard goes to her room. Knocking on the door, he hears her crying stop. She doesn't answer the door. She doesn't even move. She just stays on the ground, waiting for her dad to get in. Leonard quietly opens the door. He sees his daughter's big brown eyes looking at him. Her eyes, usually sparkling and laughing, were sad and dark.

"Hey, Butterfly. What's wrong?" Leonard asks, with the voice he only used for his wife and daughter. A voice they both loved and made everything better.

Maya sniffs and passes her hand through her cheek, trying to take all the tears from her face, acting like she hadn't been crying. Seeing this, Leonard sees his wife doing the same thing, pretending not to be crying. He smiles, because that was only one of the things Maya and her mom had in common.

Leonard sits next to his daughter.

"What's wrong, Bu?"

Hearing her dad shortening her nickname, Maya raises her head. She looks to her dad and stars to cry again.

"Hey. Don't cry." He hugs her, hoping he could just take all of her pain away.

They stood there for a while. Leonard kept rubbing his daughter's back, drawing small circles like he used to do when she was a baby and was crying. She was still his baby but she was growing up, which made Leonard both happy and sad. Kissing her head, Leonard only hears her breathing. Smiling, he remembers when she was a baby and did that against his chest. It tickled him, but over the years he loved to feel the tickles. It meant she was alive and breathing.

He felt that tickling feeling the first time he held her. She had been in the hospital for a few weeks, since she was born premature. For 3 weeks Leonard was only allowed to touch her little hand. They were told they should wait and see. They were told they didn't know if she was going to make it. They were supposed to hope for the best. After 3 weeks her heart was finally strong enough. The first person to hold her was Leonard. He was already in love with her the moment he knew Penny was pregnant of her. All the ultrasounds, the sound of her heartbeat and all the moments he felt her kicking on Penny's belly were the best moments of his life. She was the light of his life. She and her mother.

While Leonard was reminiscing Maya stopped crying. She was just hugging her dad, feeling his heartbeat. She remembered her mom saying that she loved being like that. Whenever they were watching a movie she saw her mom's head on her dad's shoulder. When the 3 of them were at the park, she saw her mom's head on her dad's chest. Her mom was always happy there, smiling and with her eyes closed.

Maya smiles just like her mom, and she hears her dad talking. Not wanting to move she stays there, smiling and picturing her mom and dad.

"Maya? What's going on?"

Maya moves and looks at her dad.

"No one wanted me"

"Wanted you for what?" Thinking no one chose her to play on recess or she was picked last on PE he starts to form a speech on her head.

"No one wanted to be my Valentine."

Leonard smiles. 'Oh. That's what this is all about. Good!'

"Sweetie, it's okay. No one wanted to be that with me when I was your age. But now, I have your mom."

"You didn't have a Valentine? Were you sad?"

"No. I wasn't."

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't mind. Look, why don't you go downstairs and choose a movie? I'll go right there in a bit and I'll make popcorn. What do you think about it?"

"Okay. We can do that!"

Maya climbs out of her dad's lap and runs downstairs to the living room. Making sure Maya doesn't see him, he goes and quickly makes a post card with the cardboard his daughter used to make butterflies. He writes down some words and glues a butterfly to the post card. He then writes his name, her name and the date.

He goes downstairs, finding his daughter trying to figure out how to put the movie on.

"Hey, Maya. What are you doing?"

Maya jumps and blushes.

"Nothing." Seeing her dad's 'You're busted' face she tells the truth "I was trying to get the movie to work."

"Give me the movie."

He quickly gets the movie to start and looks at his daughter. She was always trying to learn how to do things so he explained her what he did.

"Did you understand how it's done?" Maya nods. "Want to do it yourself?"

"Sure."

Leonard gets the CD off and hands it over to Maya. She then proceeds to do exactly what her dad said and smiles when she finally gets the CD on.

"Yey! I got it!"

Leonard laughs at his daughter and decides to get to the couch.

She sits down and he hands her the post card.

"What's this?"

"Open it."

 _From: Dad_

 _To: Maya_

 _Want to be my Valentine this year?_

 _Yes __ _No__

Maya looks to her dad and sees he's holding a pen. She takes it and looks at the pen.

"Mommy won't be mad?"

"Why would mommy be mad?"

"You're her Valentine. I don't think you can have two."

"Mommy won't be mad with you being my other Valentine."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Pinky swear?"

Leonard smiles and does a pinky swears with his daughter.

She makes an 'X' on the yes line and they start to watch _Ice Age 3._ Leonard had bought that movie because Penny liked it. Even though that movie was 16 years old, it was Maya's favorite movie. Whenever it's her time to choose, she picked that movie. The Hofstadter's knew all the lines to that movie because of Maya. Leonard still watched that movie with his daughter and when Penny got home, the movie was almost over and Maya was sleeping.

Penny kisses her forehead and gives her husband a kiss too. She sees the card and looks at her husband. He looks at her and tells her to open it. She reads and smiles. Without asking why she sits next to her husband and puts her head on his shoulder.

"Happy Valentine's day, Leonard."

"Happy Valentine's day, Penny"

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The three were all dressed up. Penny was with a red dress and Leonard was in a suit. Maya wanted to wear a pink dress but Penny told Maya that today she was wearing a red dress. At first Maya didn't want to, but when she saw her mom with a red dress she was happy to wear a dress the same color of her mom's.

Before leaving the house, Leonard gave his wife a kiss. Then he opens the door and Penny goes to the car. Maya looks at her dad. Leonard gets down and kisses his daughter's cheek. She giggles and Leonard smiles. They get on the car and go to the same place they went to every year on Valentine's Day. They get burgers and chips and eat in the car. They ate in silence, only hearing burger and chips being chewed. They then drove to the pier, where they sat on a bench and just stayed there, hearing the waves and seeing the stars.

Maya fell asleep on the drive home, but when she woke up on the morning, she had a box and a little paper on top of her nightstand.

 _From: Mommy and Daddy_

 _To: Our little Valentine_

 _Here's your Valentine's gift_

When she opened the box, she saw a necklace with a butterfly. She smiled and went to have breakfast. When she got to the kitchen she asked her dad to put the necklace on. She loved that day, after she got home.

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 _Back to the Present_

Maya was on her living room watching _Ice Age 3_ like she did for Valentine's day since she was six. She had made popcorn and had a blanket around her. She still had her necklace on. She had never taken it off. Not since she got it 10 years ago. And she had promised herself she would never take that necklace off. No matter what.

She had a Valentine this year. Like she had the year before. And all the other years. She had been told by her dad, before he died, that she would always have a Valentine. No matter what.

When the movie was over, she took a bus to the pier. Usually, she asked someone to drive her but that year she just wanted to be alone. She also didn't want to bother anyone. She liked to go there and talk to her dad. For some reason, he loved that pier. Before going back home, she whispers _'Love you daddy. I miss you so much'_. Tears roll down her face, but Maya doesn't even care. She leaves the pier and when she finally gets home she hides in her room, hoping that everything was just a nightmare, and her dad was going to knock on the door and take her pain away.

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Happy Valentine's Day to **EVERYONE**!


	4. Photos Bring Back Memories

**I don't own The Big Bang Theory or their characters. I only own Maya.**

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 _From: Maya Hofstadter_

 _To: Diary_

There's a lot of reasons for name to be Maya. One is that I was born in May. I once asked my mom what my name would be if I was born a boy. If my name would be May. She didn't answer.

I was a girl who liked to ask everything. I always wanted to know everything. Except things about me. Don't know why, but those things never came up.

One day, at school, our teacher told us we were supposed to write things about us and use photos. Of course that when I got home I immediately went to the photo album and searched for my favorite pictures. There was one of me and my dad when I was 5 years old at Christmas morning. We were both wearing our Christmas sweat shirt and fluffy socks. My dad was hugging me and there was the tree behind us. I loved that photo because it was taken by my mother in her new camera my dad had bought her when she told him she wanted one to record my life. Even when he told her I was already five, she didn't care so he bought her a camera.

The other was a photo of me and my parents at my birthday, when I was seven. The last birthday I had with my dad. I loved that photo because it reminded me of a time things were easier and my dad was there.

I then looked at a picture of me at the hospital and my parents were both there. They were holding my little hand and smiling. My mom had tears in her eyes, I could see that. My dad had the biggest smile. That smile that he used only for me and my mom. I miss that smile. I smile at the photo and hug it to my chest for a minute. I then put it back where it belonged and kept looking at photos.

I found a photo of my entire family. Halley, Archie, Leo, Maryann and I were sitting at the ground with big smiles. Our clothes were clearly wet and so was our hair. Well, Leo's hair wasn't wet. He didn't have any. He was only a baby and that was the first time he ever went to a pool. I remember that Maryann kept saying 'This is like a bathtub, but bigger!'. I miss both of them so much! Then the adults were standing right behind us. They were all smiling and then I see my parents. My mom was laughing, probably at something my dad said. My dad was looking at my mom, with the adoration eyes I remember he always used when he saw my mom. Someone talked about her or he got a text from her, I saw those eyes. Aunt Amy says she saw him using those eyes with me too. I like to think he did.

The next one was at Leo's birth. It wasn't the first time I held a baby so I knew what to do. She could remember when he was born. Uncle Sheldon called my dad saying he needed a ride. My dad asked why his wife couldn't take him. My uncle told my dad she was in labor. I remember my dad telling my mom he was going to take Sheldon to the hospital. They talked and my mom got me ready while my dad drove to the hospital. When my mom and I got there, my Uncle was saying how if it wasn't for my dad, he would've missed the birth of his first-born. That's why they named him Leo. To honor my dad. After a year and a couple of months, that name had a lot of meaning.

And after thinking of that, I got to the last page. My father's funeral. Everyone was dressed in black and my mom was crying a lot. Everyone kept saying 'I'm sorry for your lost'. I didn't understand what was happening, so when Uncle Raj sat next to me and saw me looking at everyone he asked how _I_ was doing. Since everything happened no one had asked me that. I looked at him and all I saw was that he was hurting too. I remembered the promise I made my dad of trying to help everyone go through the bad moments, like he always did. He smiled when I said that, but I was going to try to honor my promise. That's why I hugged my Uncle. But instead of helping him, he helped me. I cried a lot while I hugged him. He wasn't helping as much as my dad would but it was better than being alone.

The last photo was one of me, Halley and Archie. Even though they weren't my only 'cousins', they were the ones I was with all the time. Leo and Maryann were always away, one in New Jersey with Uncle Sheldon and Aunt Amy and Maryann was in India with Uncle Raj and his wife, both coming to Pasadena every now and then. But back at the photo. I was from just last year, but it carried a lot of love. It was when we were alone at home, their house, but it's almost like our home. I practically live there. I even have clothes at Halley's room! Still, we were in their house and we were making our homework. We all had the same teacher, but in different grades. Between the three I'm the youngest. That means that Halley and Archie help me with my work whenever I need. We got bored and went to watch TV. We all wanted to watch different things so we wrestled for the remote. We ended the 'fight' in the floor where Halley took her phone and started to take pictures. The three of us where laughing a lot and completely forgot about the remote. But that isn't the reason why I love this photo. I think the best thing was all of us covering for each other when no one knew where the remote was. To this day, no one had found it. They had to buy a new one!

I have a lot of good memories with my family. And even though I'm supposed to be an only child, I have two brothers and two sisters from different parents who I love like siblings. When people argue that we aren't siblings, I ask them if siblings fight a lot. If they answer 'Yes' I tell we fight a lot, so we must be brothers and sisters. Even when skyping we fight. Imagine summer vacations. We all get in the same house very year, all together. Our parents are supposed to be there to relax, but they do the opposite. The complete opposite.

I think I got off topic. Remember when I said that Uncle Raj talked to me at my father's funeral? Well, that's the reason for my name. His middle name is Ramayan so my parents shortened it to Maya. And Uncle Raj agreed because apparently Maya is a name of the goddess Devi, the consort of Shiva in the Indian mythology. So there were three reasons for my name. And also, if it wasn't for Uncle Raj, I wouldn't have been born. But I don't know why. I need to see if someone does. Need to think of what to write about the photos. In the meantime I need to watch my parents wedding album. I love old photos!

 _12th_ _October 2035_

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 **Read &Review**

I was going to post this chapter yesterday but the site went down the minute I was going to post it. I'm such a like person!

Anyway... I had this idea from something I had to do for school once, 'My Life in 6 pictures'. In the story I did 7 pictures without even realizing it. I hope you all like it! I wrote this because I really don't want to study for my Thursday test :)

By the way, Maryann and Leo will probably show up later. I tried to come up with a reason why they didn't show up in the last chapters. A reason why they weren't even mentioned. Hope I did a good job with that!

As always, don't know when I'm going to update my stories it can be today, tomorrow or in a month. Don't know. But, in the meantime, I will keep reading the amazing stories people keep posting. I love them so much!

 _24-02-2018_


	5. In Sickness and in Health

**I don't own The Big Bang Theory or their characters. I only own Maya.**

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I get home. I couldn't take it. Of every news I ever got in my life, this was one of the worst. First my daughter, then this. I just want to go away from my feelings for a while, to stop feeling things for a day. I go home, I get into comfortable clothes and get into bed. I hide myself with the covers, trying to hide the fact that I was scared. Scared of having to face my daughter. Scared of having to live my life thinking I could've done more. Could've tried harder.

I hear the front door opening, and I started to hear my daughter's voice. Her sweet voice filled the house, and her laughter made me happier. I smiled, and for a moment I stopped crying. She was talking to her father, my lover, my best friend, my everything. I didn't know how to tell either of them what was going on.

I try to stop the sniffling, but I just don't know how to. I was still scared especially when the house got quiet again. Thinking I was alone again, I started to cry again. I don't know why, I just thought about how my life was going to be quiet in a couple of months.

Apparently, my daughter had went to her room to do her homework and my husband was in his office, working. He probably heard me, because he went to check on me.

"Hey!" He says. He gets into bed, next to me. I can feel his hand on my back and then on my belly. I then feel him lying next to me. I try to stop the crying. I failed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Everything's fine!" I yell. I didn't mean to, I just didn't want to talk. Not even to him.

"Hey, no need to be like that. I was just trying to help!" I feel him letting go of me. I didn't want him to.

I grab his hand and look into his eyes. They were tired and worried. I caused the worry in his eyes. I hated when I did that.

"I'm sorry. I had a really bad day."

"Okay." He smiles at me. That big smile. Oh God, that smile. "That's no reason to yell at me. I'm here for your bad days. Remember? For the good and bad."

I nod. He gives me his hand. Warm hand, the one he used so many times to comfort me, to comfort his daughter. The one he used to write down his brilliant words and his genius thoughts. And, of course, to play his video games. But that was also the hand that had the wedding ring. I start to fiddle with his ring like I do when I don't want to talk about what's bothering but I want him to stay. He gets the message and stays looking at me. The worry in his eyes is still there and I know it's time to talk. I keep playing with the ring, trying to find the words to say.

"You know… uh… this is harder than I thought." I feel my eyes filling with water, and he looks at me, wondering what was wrong "Remember when you did those tests?" He nods. "I went to pick them up, today. I looked at them." I can't go on. I start to cry. He hugs me, and I don't need to say anything else. I feel his tears in my shoulder, but I don't mind them. From now on he will try to be strong. Maybe not because of me, but for Maya. He's her hero, and the last thing he wants it's her to see him as anything but that. I cry, because I'm scared of losing the first person who I loved, not because of the looks or money. I loved him, for who he was and who always went above and beyond to make me happy.

Maya must have got concerned when she didn't find her dad in his office. She probably needed help with something. That must have been why she was at the door of the bedroom I have shared with that man for almost 7 years. I look at her, and she sees my tears. She immediately tries to climb the bed to hug me. My husband sees that and lets go of me, and takes his daughter in his arms and puts her next to us. We hug her, trying to make her realize everything was going to be okay.

"Daddy? Mommy? What's going on?" Even with six years old, our daughter always tried to make others feel better. She was totally our daughter!

"Nothing, Bu. Everything will be okay. I promise" There it was. Her dad making her feel better. Promising things he didn't know he could actually do.

I breathe in, trying to find words for what was going on. My husband is hugging my daughter, trying to comfort her, or himself. He knows something is wrong, he just doesn't know _what_ is wrong with him.

* * *

 _The night before_

I find my husband in bed, just like Maya had said he was at. I look at him and see he wasn't sleeping. He was lying in bed.

"Hey, hubby. What's wrong?" I ask. I was worried, since Leonard wasn't someone who just went to bed that early in the day.

"I'm tired. That's all" His voice was clearly being forced out of his mouth, and I could hear the tiredness in his voice.

"Leonard, sweetie." I say, putting my hand in his forehead. It wasn't hot, so he didn't have a fever. But, Leonard wasn't someone to get a fever. Whenever he was sick, he barely had a fever. "Okay. Want me to bring you some cookies and tea? Or hot chocolate?" I say, with a smile on my face.

Leonard must have seen my attempt to make him feel better because he tried to smile a little bit. I saw him doing his best to act like he was fine.

"Stop it. You. Are. Sick! And I'm going to try to make you feel better. You are just going to lie there, and going to let me take care of you! Deal?" I say, with a serious voice.

"Fine" It's all he says.

I kiss his forehead and leave the room. I go to the kitchen and start making hot chocolate and I try to find the cookies. I fail to find them, so I call for my cookie expert.

"Maya. Sweetie?" I say, quietly. With the silence there was in that house, a mere whisper would be enough for my daughter to hear me.

I climb off the chair I used to reach the high shelves, and turn to find my daughter.

"Is daddy okay?" She asks in a sweet voice. She was actually concerned, I could hear that in her voice and see it in her face. "He looks like grandma did when she… passed away." Maya couldn't say 'died', didn't feel right to her. Instead she said things like 'pass away' and 'she's in a better place now'.

I kneel in front of my daughter and pull a strand of her to behind her ear. She keeps looking me in the eye, waiting for an answer. I sigh and think of a way to tell her how I didn't know how her dad was.

"Sweetie, remember last year when grandma was sick." She nods "Remember how in the beginning no one knew what was wrong with grandma?"

"You don't know what's wrong with daddy, do you?"

I smile.

"I have no idea. But I know something he would love, and would probably make him feel better."

"What?"

"You. And I. I'll finish the hot chocolate and you'll find me the cookies. Then, we will both, quietly go to daddy and give him the food. And, you'll give daddy a kiss, okay?"

"But daddy's sick. Won't he…" She pauses trying to find the word. "…Be cont...Uh…"

"Contagious?" I try to help. She's six, but she always tries to show people she knows big words. But she doesn't always remember them

"Yes! Contagious! Won't he?"

"No." I lie. I have no idea, but it seems like it's not going to make her sick. In a way, I lied and at the same time told my daughter the truth.

Maya leaves the kitchen, trying to find the cookies. She then gets back, sits on a bench where the plate was, puts the cookies in it and looks up at me.

"Done!" She proudly says. I smile at her.

"Good job, baby."

I put everything on a tray and, along with Maya, got into the room. We put the tray on the bed and I helped Maya put herself in the bed. She got next to her dad and kissed his cheek.

"You're going to be okay, daddy!" She says. Both me and Leonard smile.

"Thank you, princess." Leonard says.

Maya takes a cookie and gives it to Leonard. He starts eating it, and Maya takes another one.

"Hey, slow down! I still have this one!" Leonard tells Maya.

"It's not for you, it's for me. I brought the cookies and put them in the plate. So, I get a cookie" She says.

Leonard and I look at each other.

"Sweetie, did you ask?" I ask

"No." She says, a little bit sad

"Know what?" Leonard asks, sounding a little bit better after the hot chocolate. "Have that cookie." Maya smiles, and gets super excited. I look at Leonard, with a 'What are you doing?' look. He sees it, and ignores it. "But tonight, you won't have desert." Maya looks at him.

"What? Okay. Seems fair. So can I eat the cookie?"

"Sure. You can. Just don't forget, we're having dinner at Aunt Bernadette's house, and she's making her famous chocolate cake."

Maya looks at him, and puts down the cookie.

"Fine. I won't eat it." She then looks at the door. "I'll end my homework."

She leaves the room, and Leonard looks at me.

"What?" I ask

"You didn't say anything. You are actually letting me go to have dinner at Howard and Bernadette's house?" He seemed surprised

"You are an adult, right? And you do seem to be better. Faked it so I would make you hot chocolate didn't you?" I smile

"Maybe. But Maya seemed like she really wanted that cookie didn't she?"

"I kind of was going to let her eat it. You just kept talking."

"Know what? What if we give her the cookie. Not now, of course, but later. After dinner. Before the cake." Leonard smiles. I nod.

* * *

 _Present day_

I made Leonard go to the hospital, once we got back from the dinner. Nothing really happened, but I got concerned. If I didn't do anything, Leonard would have just allowed it to go on, to happen more times.

All of that for the simple fact that he didn't want to worry me.

But all he did, was making me more concerned. Especially because I was the one who got the call from the hospital saying the results were ready. That I could go pick them up. I had the worst car ride of my life, overthinking every little detail. When I got there, I was sent to the doctor that saw Leonard the day before. He started to talk to me with a sweet tone, like he was going to give me a bad news.

"Mrs. Hofstadter, I'm sorry to inform you, but your husband has cancer."

My heart stopped when he told me that. It has been a couple of hours, but my heart it's still not beating the way it was before I got that news. On the ride home, all I thought was about Maya, who was probably grow up without a father. It was about the conversation Leonard and I had just three days before. About having more kids. About giving Maya siblings. I kept wondering about how I was going to give a news like this to Leonard. About how I was going to face this, about how I was going to take care of my daughter on my own. How I had to put a brave face on, and act like I'm okay with all of this. Even though I'm not.

I look at my husband, who is currently sleeping next to me. I smile at him, try to find his hand to feel the warmth of it, and I look at him. His face isn't worried anymore or tired. He's peaceful, unlike me. I know tomorrow is a brand new day, but the problems of today will also be tomorrow's problems. I release Leonard's hand and I feel my hand getting cold. I wonder if that's what is going to happen after he dies. If my hand is going to be cold all the time. Now that I think about it, I understand why it's hard for Maya to say someone died. 'Death' and 'died' are such strong words. They are also two of the saddest words I ever heard of.

I get to my daughter's room. The door is always open, so she can actually go to the bathroom or to our room without hitting her face in the door – and yes, it has happened before.

I look inside and I find my daughter's bedside table light on. I wonder why she turned it on, since she has a presence light and we always turn it on after we give her the goodnight kiss.

"Hey, kid! What exactly are you doing up at" I look at the watch in her desk" 3:15AM?"

"I couldn't sleep. I heard you and daddy talk about what was wrong with him."

I look at my daughter. My sweet little girl, whose father was probably going to be taken away from her at such a young age. I wonder what she was trying to find in the computer.

"Okay." I breathe in and out three times to calm myself down. I then sit on her bed, trying to make her 6 year old head understand what was going on. "Look, daddy's sick. And, he will start to be sicker after a while, because of the treatment they are going to do, to see if daddy gets better."

"But... if daddy's doing that thing to be better, than why is it that he'll get sicker?"

"Because the treatment makes people get sick. Like grandma."

"Is daddy going to die?" Maya asks, alarmed. She then realizes she said _the_ word. "I mean, pass away?"

"I don't know, sweetie" I couldn't lie to her about this. He could actually pass away because of the cancer. "But I do know that worrying about it, won't make daddy feel better." I wish it did. He would be fine by now. He would probably never be sick if I being worried would make him feel better.

"If I go to bed, will daddy be there tomorrow? To take me to school, like he does every day?" Maya asks, trying to understand things, like she always did

"Daddy will take you to school tomorrow. I mean, tomorrow he won't take you."

"Why not?!" Maya asks, worried again

"Tomorrow is Sunday. Today's Saturday. There's no school on either of this days." I hear her breathing again. "Go to sleep. Leave me worrying about daddy. Okay?"

"Okay." I turn the light off and I walked to the door. As I was closing the door, just enough so she wouldn't have a lot of light from the outside but enough so she could open it in case she needed «, she calls out for.

"Mommy?" I look at her.

"Yes?"

"Worrying about daddy won't make him better."

"I know."

"Then why are you going to worry?"

I don't know how to answer to that question. It would take a lot of conversations for her to understand why I was worried. Conversations I wasn't ready for.

"Goodnight, Maya."

I go back to my room and I lie next to Leonard. I hear him breathing, and I drift off to sleep, with his hand warming mine and with that annoying sound his nose made when he breathed. But this time, I don't mind it. I'm actually happy it's there. It means he's alive. And that's enough.

* * *

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Ow! Such a long chapter. I really don't want to study!

Anyway, this chapter was written in Penny's point of view, because I noticed that all chapters of this story are about Maya. And even though she shows up in this story, Penny is the 'main character' this time. And I finally said what's wrong with Leonard!

Anyway, long chapter because I won't write very often since I need to study and also, I didn't notice how much I had written until the last sentence. I noticed the amount of words and I was like _'OWWW! So many words!'_

Also, this chapter takes place when Maya is six, so probably around 2025.

 _24-02-2018_


	6. Butterfly

**I don't own The Big Bang Theory or the characters.**

* * *

 _2022 - Leonard_

I remember my daughter's first words like it was yesterday. It wasn't mommy, daddy or any variation of those words. It wasn't a full scientific phrase like Sheldon claims that he had. It was a simple word, something that stuck in my mind.

It was a Sunday morning, at the park where every Sunday the gang, our second family, had lunch. We all gather there to make sure the kids have enough sun light and so they get tired. That way, they fall asleep on the way home and we aren't as tired for work on those dreadful Monday's. Sometimes I feel like Garfield. I love lasagna (especially Bernadette's lactose free lasagna she does especially for me) and I hate Monday's.

But back to Maya's first words.

Penny, Maya and I went to the slides. As usual, I got to the top of slide and Penny stayed at the bottom waiting to catch Maya. We were doing that ever since Maya was old enough to go to the park with us. At some point we stopped and started to talk. Of course at the time Maya didn't understand a word we were saying since she was just a baby.

All of the sudden she says the word.

She's looking at the 'flying worm' like Halley liked to call it. She said the right name:

 _Butterfly_

But in the sweet baby voice so it came out more like:

 _Buwelfy_

And even though she said the word missing tons of letters, she still said a word. There, in front of us, was a little girl that all doctors had said that she wouldn't talk or walk. But they were wrong. She just two weeks before her first word, had gotten up and walked around the house, holding herself on the furniture for almost 40 seconds. And then she said that word. So I started to call her by that. Howard once asked what I would call Maya if her first word was mommy or daddy. I didn't even answer him.

After that moment, I didn't hate that Monday. My baby had _talked_.

And now, with 3 years old, she's going to pre-school. She held Penny and mine's hand all the way from the car and to the class door. We didn't know what to expect. But she kissed us, asked when we were going to pick her up and got into the room. I smiled through the tears, just like my wife did.

Now, in this exact moment, she's in the car with me, talking about her day, non-stop. I love when she talks like that. Passionate, like her mom does when she talks about Maya or me. I smile, thinking where I got so lucky to have such beautiful ladies in my life. I look at my radiant child, who is currently looking at the window.

"So Maya" She looks at me "What do you think of going to have dinner at the Wolowitz's house tonight?"

She opens hers big brown eyes and looks at me, and I see them twinkling. She then nods her head real hard and smiles at me.

I turn the music on and I hear Maya singing in the background.

Life's great. Like Bernadette's lasagna, which I hope is the menu for tonight. Fingers crossed!

* * *

 **Read &Review**

Short chapter this time. I wanted to give a reason for Maya's nickname 'Butterfly'. Nice first word, huh?

Also, I have no idea when do babies start to walk and talk. I googled it but it was a little confuse. I didn't understand a thing. So, I used my imagination!

As always, no idea when this story is going to be updated.

 _18-03-2018_


	7. Sheldon

**I don't own The Big Bang Theory or the characters.**

* * *

"I remember the day I was told about Leonard's illness. I remember the day I was told there was nothing else someone could do. I remember the day my wife sat me down on the couch Leonard brought to the apartment 4A all those years ago and told me he had died. I remember running to by bedroom. I remember his funeral, everyone's faces and every word that was said. But I don't remember seeing him giving up.

He was always someone who fought, not for himself, but for others. I will always wonder if he fought the disease that took him away, for himself or for his family. I know he would have loved to see his daughter growing up and eventually walking her down the aisle. I also know that even after every ridiculous fight we both had, that he cared for me. He took care of me. Like he was my big brother. But I was the one that was supposed to take care of him. I was the oldest. That doesn't mean I should've left this world first. It means that no matter what happened in this life, I should have been there for him the way he was there for me.

But I wasn't.

I only cared for myself, I thought only about myself and that he _had_ to take care of me. I always thought he would always be there. Even when I was told he was sick. I thought people were messing with me. I thought it was only the flu. But it wasn't.

So, the divinity my mother always believed in, that she made me believe in and I never did, He took Leonard away from me. From his daughter and his wife and everyone else. It's not fair. Leonard wasn't just a friend. He was my best friend, my brother and guardian angel. Because no matter what, he was there for me and he protected me. He made me mad and made me laugh. He protected me, like a brother.

If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't have this friends, friends I now call family. Friends he called family. But now, he isn't here. And I don't know where I'm supposed to be heading to or what to do. I need him back, even though I know he isn't coming back. He's not going to hug me when things go bad, he's not going to talk to me whenever I do a stupid thing. He's not going to do any of that.

And I miss him.

Not like everyone else. People here miss him because they will miss his hugs, like me, and will miss his pep talks, so will I. But I will also miss the way he made me tea and hot chocolate. The way he just _knew_ what to do to make me feel better. The way he joked about me being a big baby.

I'll even miss our fights.

The fights over the old roommate agreement. Or whose turn it was to choose the movie. I'll miss the times where we fought. And the times we stopped fighting. When we realized one of us was wrong, usually he was the one wrong, and we just sat on the couch and watched a movie.

I'll miss going to the movies with him and tell him what happened on the books. I'll miss having popsicles with him, and working with him.

And God, or whoever takes people away, took Leonard away from us. But He or She will never be able to take the memories we have of him. Those will always be ours. The time I was tased or the time we were almost arrested, all in the same day that memory will always belong to me. The time we needed helium or the adventure we had in the North Pole. Mine, forever. We can share the story but, those people will never truly know what happened. Because we can tell people what happened but there are always details we forget to mention.

And there are always things we forget to say.

Things we don't say because we always think there's going to be another day. Another opportunity to tell people things we want to say to them. Sometimes is things like 'I love you', 'you're like a brother' or 'you're my hero'. Other times, like today, is 'I miss you'. But all I wanted to tell Leonard, while he was still alive, was 'I'll miss you'.

Because that's true.

Because, if it wasn't for him, I would miss the birth of my son. I would've been so scared on my wedding day that I wouldn't even be there. But Leonard talked to me, and I showed up.

This world needs more people like Leonard. But I don't want someone like Leonard. I want Leonard. I miss him, and I need him."

With that, I returned to my sit, between Amy and Maya. Maya extend her hand to me and I grabbed it. I remembered how hard it was to lose my dad, and I was already a teenager. Maya was only seven and I know for a fact that Leonard wasn't just her dad. Just like Leonard was to me, he was also her guardian angel. And her hero.

I look at her. Her brown eyes, so similar to Leonard's eyes, they weren't shining as much as they were all the other times I saw her. They were sad, like Leonard's eyes were whenever Penny was mad at him or they broke up. She was holding my hand, trying to console me while I was the one that was supposed to be doing that. After all, she had just lost her father. But just like him, she was taking care of me.

I look at Amy and she smiles at me.

"Great speech. You clearly spoke what you were thinking."

I can only nod. If I said one word, I would start to cry. I hold Amy's hand and look at Penny. She hadn't cried, I noticed. Since Leonard's passing she had become quieter, more reserved and less friendly. Everyone had noticed and told me it was normal. 'She's grieving' was what everyone told me. I believed.

I also realized that she didn't look at Maya anymore. But who could blame her. I remember my mom not looking at my brother when my dad died because they looked similar. Maybe that was what was going on with Penny. Maya and Leonard were practically the same person. Even in the way of talking to people. Maya's hand was relaxing me the same way Leonard's hugs did. I smiled when I realized that Leonard had made someone to take care of me. Even far away, he was still looking after me.

* * *

 **Read &Review**

This part was in Leonard's funeral, when everyone talks about the person who died. I'm not sure whether Sheldon's speech was too big or not but it's Sheldon! He speaks a lot. :)


	8. Waiting for him

**Summary:** Life was easy when her dad was there. Maya missed him. And so did Penny.

 **I don't own The Big Bang Theory or the characters.**

* * *

"It's sad, you know?" I tell her, looking down.

"What is?" She asks

"I still wait for him." I paused, thinking about all the times I thought I heard his voice, or smelt his cologne, or saw his car. "I wait. I wait for him to show up somewhere, to tell me he is okay. That he hasn't died. To tell me he went to give a lecture somewhere or got caught in traffic. I wait for him to come to bed at night. I wait for him to show up and tell me he took too long to shave or to tell me Maya was taking too long to fall asleep. I still wait for him. I don't know when I'll stop waiting. Or _how_ to stop waiting for his return."

I get up from the couch and walk around the house, hoping to find something of his there. It has been three months since his passing, but his things stayed where they belonged. I couldn't find any strength in me to take them down and put them in boxes. I look at the door. I can still see him, if I close my eyes. I can see him opening the door with his bag on his hand. I can see him putting it down on the couch. I can see him getting close to me. But I can't feel his kiss. His hands wrapped in my neck as he kisses me. I can't feel him. Because he's not there.

I see the photo that he had kept next to him since the day we got it. It was the first photo we took of Maya, our daughter. He was holding her, with his big brown eyes. There was hope, in those eyes. Hope that he would be a better parent than his parents were. There was pride and happiness too. And I could see he was scared.

I don't remember that day very well. I don't remember Raj driving me to the hospital. Or him calling everyone. I don't remember him leaving to get Leonard, while Bernadette held my hand. I don't remember Leonard getting there, his hair all messed up, and his jacket with one arm correct and the other upside down. I don't remember anything. But her.

I remember holding her for the first time. Her little hand in mine, Leonard and I in our little world. I remember crying and Leonard was too.

I look at that picture. I would give so much so that I could live that day again. How much I would love to just be able to go back in time, at any moment where I could have him back. To be able to hug him, to feel his hands in my back or to kiss him and feel his hands in my neck. I miss the times where we would hold hands while we would climb the stairs, or we were just walking in the street.

I sighed. I remember I had someone in the house, someone I cared for so much.

But I just couldn't. I didn't know how to live without him. I had to learn, even if I didn't want to.

Before I walk out of his office, I stumble across something I had never seen. It was a letter. It was underneath all his paperwork, and research. I carefully pull it off the mountain of paper. I smell it, and it was like he was there. His cologne was, somehow, still in the letter. I see him, sitting in the chair next to his desk. He's looking up to me, with those big brown eyes. I loved to stare at them. They looked like a dark tunnel, but one where there was always a light to guide me through the bad times. He was that light. But now the tunnel his dark, no light in sight. But he's there in front of me.

I open the letter and smile. It was written with his _'I'm trying to improve my writing'_ handwriting.

* * *

' _Penny,_

 _I know it must be weird to read this letter after so long. Truth is, it wasn't my ghost that dropped it there. It wasn't me either. It was Maya. I gave her this job. I knew you would miss me, I knew you wouldn't be able to let go of me anytime soon. I told our daughter to put his letter somewhere you would eventually find._

 _I wrote this to make you feel better, somehow. I have no idea of how hard this must be for you. But I can tell you how hard it is for me, to know I'll leave you to take care of our daughter alone. You know what you're doing while I'm writing this? You are getting take out and I'm waiting for your phone call to get to our old apartment so that we can have dinner with our friends. It might be the last time we all have dinner._

 _I haven't seen you cry yet. I'm not sure if I'll see you cry. But I know you are heart broken. Probably wishing that you could go back in time and spend a little more time with me. I am thinking of that._

 _Penny, stop thinking of what you could've done. I'm sorry, honey, but I'm not coming back. I'm not showing up at the door and make excuses as to why I'm late. I'm not giving any lectures, I'm not at any expedition. I'm in heaven, looking after you and Maya. My girls._

 _I love you Penny. With everything I am-or was. I love you, but I still hope you don't come to see me any time soon. Your place is there, taking care of Maya, of Sheldon, of everyone else. And as much as I miss you and you miss me, I don't want to see you up here with me unless you are eighty and Maya is married. I'm hoping you'll give whoever is getting our daughter, the 'dad' talk. You were doing it anyway!_

 _I need you to be strong for Maya. But, if you ever need any help or anyone to talk to, just remember that I tried to help you. I got you someone for you to talk to. She'll be there all the time, acting like her husband and kids are giving her a headache and she needed a break. That might be true, sometimes. But I asked her to take care of you. She'll listen to you._

 _I know she's not me. She'll never be me. She won't wrap her arms around you and hold you like I did. She won't kiss you in that spot in your neck that makes you quiver. She won't cook you meals when you come home tired from work and hand you a glass of juice (because you don't drink alcohol anymore). She won't do that anymore-and neither will I._

 _And as much as that breaks my heart, remember this. I did that. For years. So, if you ever feel down, pretend like I am there. Don't do that all the time, though. It'll make you depressed. I don't want that._

 _Talk to Maya. She's sad too. And as much as that little girl reminds you of me, remember that she's not me. She's not. She is the both of us. She's a perfect mixture of the two of us. She's our little, perfect and sweet girl. She's ours. Not only me. She's 50% Penny and 50% Leonard._

 _I miss you, Penny._

 _Yours truly,_

 _Leonard Hofstadter'_

* * *

When I ended that letter, I was crying. I covered my mouth with my hand, trying, at the same time, to breath.

Leonard had wrote a letter for me, he made Maya give me the letter without I ever noticing, he made Bernadette be there for me. He signed the letter with 'yours truly' like he did every time. That always made me smile, and it had worked. That letter made me miss him even more. But it also made me wonder why Maya gave me the letter already.

I got up from the chair I sat at while reading the letter and left the office. I walked to the living room, finding Bernadette sitting in the same place I had left her at. I smile at her.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For being here. With me."

"Anytime." Bernadette says, getting up.

She goes up to me and hugs me. It wasn't Leonard hugging me, but it was something. I smile through the tears. It would be a long road, but everything would be better. I will be better. I will stop waiting. But I will never, _ever_ forget him.

* * *

 ** _Hope you liked this chapter!_**

The beginning of this chapter was taken from a quote I found while I was on Tumblr. It inspired me to write this chapter. Because why would I study! :)


	9. Ten years

**I don't own The Big Bang Theory or the characters.**

* * *

 _Howard Wolowitz_

It has been ten years. Ten years since he left. Ten years since everything changed. Ten years since we last saw him. But it hasn't been one second since the last time I thought of him.

He was a nice guy. Maybe too nice. People would use him, me included. I'm not proud of it, but I confess to use his kindness for my benefit.

It's weird, even after so long, to not see him in the university talking to the new students, making them feel welcome. To not see him in the comic book store in the middle of the week. To not have dinner with him. To not see he park his car in front of the school.

But even worse, it's not to see him holding hands with his wife. It's sad to see her without him. They were two people, both with their own thoughts and ideas. But together they made an amazing person. They were one of the best couple I ever saw, only being beaten by me and my wife, of course.

Whenever I look at his wife, I don't see happiness, joy, or any other happy emotion. She doesn't smile anymore, but she doesn't cry either. In the last ten years I didn't see her cry, not even once, at least after his funeral. She's clearly sad, never stopped grieving his death. I don't think I have but I had cried. He was an amazing person, one of my best friends, someone I trusted. His death took a tool on me, made me realize my own mortality. Made me realize that I could be one of those people that would never see their kids grow up, like him. He was never given the opportunity to see his daughter grow up to the beautiful seventeen year old she is now.

She's grieving too. Just like her mother, I haven't seen her cry. She was a little girl when he passed away, had her father taken away too soon. She grew up too fast, she was forced to know that life wasn't made of fairy tales and prince charming. People would leave, people would be taken away from her.

But I wish it wasn't the way it happened.

It was too soon. She didn't deserve it. No one did. And the way it happened…

She was happy when I picked her up from school. Laughing at her friend, my daughter Halley, and she got in the car with a smile in her face. She quickly noticed my face, red from crying even though I had tried to stop. That smile quickly faded into a frown, and that was the last time I saw her real smile. I took it away, with the words that came off my mouth ten seconds later.

I took her to the hospital, with my daughter next to her. She didn't talk all the way there, first time that had happened. She would talk about everything and nothing while we were together. She wouldn't shut up. Last time that happened was that day.

She ran to her mom when we got there. They hugged each other, last hug between mother and daughter, something we had no idea of in that moment. They separated after his passing, he was the glue between them.

Now, everything is different. Without him, it has been ten sad years. There were good moments, but not like those we had with him. My best friend left, went to India because he couldn't be there. It was too painful. To all of us, but he was the one that left.  
 _His_ best friend and his wife's best friend went to New Jersey with their son. It had a big impact in their relationship, his death. They wouldn't have stayed together if it hadn't been for their son.

I stayed, knowing very well that I couldn't leave that mother and daughter alone. My children got the task to make his daughter happy, while me and my wife got the mother. It wasn't an easy task, never was. But we took it, because that was what he would do. He was a nice guy.

A nice guy that didn't have the chance to see his daughter take her license. She got his old car, as a gift. It was, in my eyes, a good gift. A way to pass her something from him, a way to make her remember him and the good moments she spend with him in that car. Trips from and to school, trips to the comic book store – that she loved so much.

It's funny how life worked out. Twenty years ago I found out I was going to be a father and became one. Who would have thought that _I_ would be a father to three kids after twenty years? One of them isn't mine, per say. She was kind of adopted. But I love her as much as I love my kids. She's not even an adult and already went through a lot.

She is almost as an orphan. I never thought this would happen, for her mom to not be there for her that much. She never moved on from his death, and it made his daughter pay the consequences from that. It wasn't her fault he died. Or was it?

 _05-03-2036_

* * *

 **End of Chapter 9**

Such an evil person that I am sometimes. Just leaving this here and walking away. Sorry for the mean move, but I had to. It wasn't what I was thinking, but I hope it will work.

Also, the dates I put in the end of the chapter are not in an American style. So, it's _day-month-year_. Capiche?

 **Anyway, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE WAS PICKED BY NBC FOR A SIX SEASON! Happy dance!**

 **That was it… you can continue with your life! :)**


	10. Father's Day

Thank you to **QueenAlice467** for the idea!

 **Disclaimer** : I don't own The Big Bang Theory or the characters.

* * *

 _16th June_ _2036_

Maya sits on her bed, holding a small gift in her hand. Every year for Father's Day she had a tradition no one knew about. She would save money and buy a Harry Potter memorabilia and keep it under her bed. She started doing that when she was about three years old, on those mornings her mom would come in her room earlier holding a gift and made Maya get up to give it to her dad.

He would always make her climb on the bed and give him a kiss. She would giggle because it was Sunday, so her dad's beard would be at that point where it itches the face of the other person. She would give him the gift and wait for him to open it so that he hugged her and her mom. They would snuggle until they got a phone call from Howard telling them they were late for Sunday lunch.

They would then dress quickly, which meant Maya had different socks, Leonard had his shirt upside down, and Penny had to make them be 'presentable'. Somehow after Maya was born, Penny became more responsible and Leonard was actually the fun dad – but he could be harsh when it was needed. Everyone thought that Leonard would be the responsible one, but they were apparently wrong. Because of the way his parents treated him growing up, he wanted to be better parent than they were.

Maya stared at the gift for a while before making it join the rest of gifts she had under the bed collecting dust. 'Need to find a box to put them in' was what she thought every year and kept forgetting.

Before she was able to forget about that box, she decided to just go ahead and buy it. She put on some shoes, a sweater and her car keys, leaving the house in less than five minutes. Unlike her mother, Maya wasn't very into fashion and was more care-free. She was always sort of tomboy, but she used to be the kind of girl that would wear a pretty dress because she knew that made her parents happy.

She drove to the mall, singing along to the song on the radio with the window open, so that the wind was moving her hair. Maya had her sunglasses on, and looked like she was happy. It was a weird feeling for her, to be happy. She wasn't sure she knew what that was. She wasn't unhappy with the way her life went, it could've been worse – although it was bad that her dad died when she was young. She had friends – good friends.  
Maya should happy, shouldn't she? Then why wasn't she?

She decided to put that thought aside as she parked the car and got out of the car. Maya got a shopping cart even though she only needed one box. She went around the store where she was going to buy the box. She ended up buying a new lamp, a few notebooks, the box – finally! -, and a new blanket.  
She paid for everything with her mom's credit card – it wasn't stolen, Penny had actually given it! – And got everything in her car.

As she drove home, the thought about not being happy went back to her head, so, in order to stop hearing it, she turned the music up to block her thoughts. ' _Good way to avoid thinking!'_ She thought.

She, when she got home, unloaded her car and went to her room to put everything in the right place. As she climbed the stairs, she noticed her door was slightly open, and she noticed her mother inside. She sighed, not really in the mood to hear her talking.  
Maya got inside and looked at her mom.

"What are you doing?" She screamed, when she realized her mom was messing with the gifts she had bought on Father's Day. She put everything she bought on the bed, took the box and got all the gifts inside. As she did it, her mom stared, not really knowing what to say. When Maya was done, she stared at her mom, waiting for an answer to her question.

"I'm sorry." Penny said, putting her back on the bed, so she could be more comfortable. "It's just that I saw you putting the gift under the bed and I wanted to see what it was. I was curious. That's when I noticed the rest of the gifts. Why are they closed?"

Maya stares at her mother before sighing. She slowly sits next to her, while thinking of what she's going to say. She knows her mom never moved on from her husband's death, so this talk won't be easy – for either of them.

"It was a tradition we both had on Father's Day. You know, just the two of us, it was our thing. You would buy a gift and make me give it to dad. When he..." Maya took a deep breath before continuing. It was getting harder for her to speak, and she needed to make sure she wouldn't cry, but the tears were threatening to leave. "When he passed away, we stopped. I know there wasn't anyone there for us to give a gift to, but we didn't only stop doing that. We stopped talking, and we don't seem like a family. Mom, just because dad isn't here anymore, it doesn't mean you need to stop being happy." Maya says. She doesn't really know what to expect from her mom, it can be anything.

Penny stares at her daughter. The little girl she once knew is now a woman. A woman whose dad never met her.

"When did you grow up?" Penny says, hugging her daughter. The tears that were threatening to leave both of the women, were now on each others clothes, due to the hug.

They stood there for a minute or two, just enjoying the hug and making up for lost time. That hug was the beginning of a new bond between them, a fresh start. It wasn't going to be that hug that was going to fix their relationship, but it was a start.  
Penny was the first to pull from that hug. Maya wanted to stay, warm and cozy in her mother's arms, like she used to be when she was a child. Penny didn't want it to be over either, but she needed to say a word to her daughter.

"Baby, your dad's passing wasn't easy on me. I loved him, so much. I thought I couldn't go through it, I thought I was never going to be okay. I never moved on from his death, I don't think I will ever be. Maybe one day I will, but I can't right now. I'm sorry, for everything. I should've been there for you and I wasn't. You lost your father, and you were so young. But I thought that you were strong and you wouldn't need me there, nagging you all the time. I was wrong. I'm so sorry."

"Mom, it's okay." Maya said, trying to console her mom.

"No, it's not okay. I'm your mom, and it's my job to help you, and support you on difficult times."

"But you were going through a difficult time as well."

"I didn't lose my father."

"No. You lost your husband. He helped you and supported you. You lost the love of our life, your best friend."

Penny looked at Maya, noticing how much of Leonard was in her daughter. Maybe that was why they distanced from each other. It was because Leonard was living in both of them, but wasn't with them. He was only in their hearts, and Maya got his ability to help people.

"You are right. I lost him. We both did." Penny said, smiling. "You know, when you were a baby, me and your dad used to apologize to each other because we said that you were the love of our life. Over the years, your dad and I kept saying it, it became sort of inside joke. I lost one of the loves of my life. But I had two, in the beginning. I just hope that after everything, I didn't lose you."

"Mommy." Maya said, like she did when she was a child and had a bad dream. She hugged her mom, and softly said "You will never lose me."

The two stayed there, for a long time, connecting and supporting each other.

* * *

 _17th June 2036_

When the day began, Maya woke up with the smell of french toast. She quickly rose from the bed, took a sweater from the hanger and put it on. She climbed down the stairs and went to the kitchen, from where the smell seemed to come from.

When she got there, she saw her mom cooking. It was a rare sight, since Penny hardly cooked. Maya sat on the high chairs next to the kitchen isle while watching her mother cooking. Penny didn't see her there, only noticing her when she turned around to the isle. She almost dropped the plate, but her years as a waitress on the Cheese Cake Factory paid off, and she didn't drop it.

"Damn, girl. You scared me. Why didn't you say something?" Penny asked, while putting the plate in front of her daughter.

"Wanted to see how long it would take for you to notice me." Maya answered, smiling. She took the plate and started to eat.

Penny continued to make breakfast and then sat in front of her daughter, just enjoying both the company and the food.

When Maya was done, she got up to put the plate on the dishwasher. As she was opening the door that would lead her back to her room, Penny called for her.

"Do you have any plans for today?"

"Not really? Why? What's on your mind?"

"I was thinking we could go and have lunch just the two of us. Anywhere you want. "

"Sure. Uh, maybe we can go to that new place on Colorado Street?"

After seeing that her mom agreed on the location, she decided to go upstairs to her room and get ready. She needed to take a long bath and to dry her hair, two things that would easily take her over an hour. When she was done, she dressed a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, putting on sneakers and going to the living room. In the middle of the stairs, the door bell rang, and she saw her mom going to open it.

Whoever it was, her mom hugged. Curious, Maya got closer, only to see that it was three people she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Leo!" Maya screamed, running to his arms. They hugged for a long time, while their parents saw them. Amy and Penny were okay with it, but Sheldon was rolling his eyes.

Just like his dad, Leo was a tall man and had the bluest eyes Maya has ever seen. Unlike his dad, and despite his parents, Leo wasn't interested in physics or science. He wanted to be a lawyer or a doctor – different doctor from his parents. He was very smart, just like his parents, always has the best scores and is always best in class.

Maya hugged her aunt and uncle – that was always fine with a hug from his god-daughter – and went back to be right next to Leo. He was a twelve-year-old boy that was very sweet and was always making jokes.

After a few minutes of conversations, Amy asked why Maya seemed like she was leaving.

"We were having lunch together." Penny answers.

Amy knew how broken the relationship between the mother and daughter had gotten after Leonard's death, so she was glad they were finally getting together.

"Well, what if we all go?" Maya suggests. Even though she wanted to be with her mom, she was afraid to not have any subject to talk about with her. If the three of them went, there would be more to talk about.

"No, we don't want to impose." Amy says. She wanted them to talk to each other and spend time together.

"You wouldn't be imposing! Come on, we need to catch up!" Penny says, excited to be with her bestie again.

"Yes, she is right. We should talk and see what we were all up to. We should all talk about our respective fields. I'll start!" Sheldon says.

"No you won't. That's not the catching up I mean, Shelly!" Penny says, jokingly.

"No don't call me Shelly! That's not my name." Sheldon protests. Penny ignores.

"Shall we go?"

After everyone agreed, except Sheldon because it wasn't the right day to eat there, they all went to the car and to the new restaurant.

The trip there was quick. They parked the car and headed to the restaurant. After they seated, Penny at the head of the table with Sheldon and Amy next to each other and with Leo and Maya in front of them.

They ordered while they all caught up. From time to time, Sheldon tried to talk about work, but everyone – except Leo because he didn't want to disrespect his father – would cut him off.  
Amy asked Maya if she had any boyfriends or girlfriends, and laughed when Maya said she didn't have time for that.

Sheldon of course only cared about her academic career, and was very pleased to know his god-daughter was top of her class and was probably going to Harvard – although she was still thinking about going to Princeton like her dad did which made everyone at the table smile – so Sheldon and her, along with Amy, talked to her about the best university. They promised to try to help her apply to the best school when the time would come, and Maya thanked them.  
She was thinking of following her dad's foot steps and become an experimental physicist, however, she was also interested in Microbiology due to Bernadette being around a lot. She was a big influence on Maya, being like a second mother when hers wasn't around.

Then the conversation went to Leo. He tried to hide, since he wasn't very into conversations – especially when they were about him.

Sheldon tried to make him choose a better career while Amy just sat there quiet. She was tired of that conversation and thought that Leo was too young to make a decision like that.

Luckily, Maya intervened.

"Uncle Sheldon, don't you think it's too early for him to think about it? I only thought about it last year. He's twelve. Give him a couple more years, maybe?" Maya said, nicely, trying not to sound rude.

"When I was his age, I was in college!"

"So? I'm not in college yet, I'm finishing High-School, and Aunt Amy was still in high School when she was my age, and she turned out fine. It's okay not to know what we want to do. Especially when you are as young as he is." Maya tried to help.

Sheldon eventually caved, not for long, but at least he got quieter.

They finished eating, so they paid and decided to take a walk around the city. They eventually got tired and decided to call the day off. Penny drove them to their hotel and then drove herself and Maya home.

None of them said a word the entire trip.

Once they got home, Maya put on her pajamas and went downstairs to watch a movie before bed. Her mom was already there, deciding which movie she was going to see.

Penny looked to Maya and smiled. She then had sort of light bull lighting up inside her head. She took the Ice Age from the shelf and showed it to Maya.

Both women smiled, remembering the moments they spent watching that movie – and how many times they had watched it. It ended up becoming a Father's Day tradition. Just because they couldn't have him there to celebrate with them, it didn't mean they couldn't celebrate it. Right?

They weren't a perfect family, but they were at least _trying_ to be a _family_.

* * *

 _ **End of Chapter 10**_

This chapter was used to celebrate Father's Day. After the last chapter and reading the reviews, I realized I made Penny and Maya seem a bit like enemies and less like mother and daughter. I tried to use this chapter to fix that, and introduce Leo – and Amy and Sheldon, of course! I initially thought of making Maya and Leo together, but quickly pulled that thought out. First, due to the age difference. Second, I just didn't want to! :)

 **Hope you all like it**! (especially you, **QueenAlice467** , to whom this chapter is dedicated to!)


	11. Train

**Disclaimer** : I don't own The Big Bang Theory or the characters. Only own Maya.

* * *

"I'm not sick, I'm dying!" Leonard yells.

Sheldon swallows the lump on his throat. Hearing that wasn't easy, especially when he already knew the truth. He was just trying not to think about it, he wanted to act like it wasn't true. He wasn't going to lose his best friend.

Leonard looks away from Sheldon. For the first time since he found out about his illness, it had actually hit him. He was dying. He was not going to see his daughter grow up, he was not going to have more smart and beautiful babies with Penny, he was not going to grow old with her and take care of their grandchildren while their daughter worked.

He wasn't going to do any of that.

No. He was dying.

Everyone in apartment 4A looked at each other, some with tears in their eyes, others surprised with Leonard and Sheldon's reaction.

Sheldon just leaned back on his chair and kept eating his dinner. Leonard stood where he was, wondering what just happened - or maybe thinking back on his life.

No one knew what else to do. So they kept eating.

A moment or two after everyone decided to keep eating, Leonard finally sat down. He looked at Sheldon various times, probably trying to think whether or not to say something.

"It's okay." Sheldon said. And that was it. Leonard nodded, as if to say he understood.

They all eventually started to speak again, about various things that happened throughout the day. Leonard was quiet in his spot and so was Sheldon. It was like they just realized what was going to happen. Because in a year, Leonard might not be there. And that was a complicated thing to think of.

Leonard was on his spot thinking about the day he stopped living in that apartment.

 _Past-2019_

It was weird to leave those doors with all his belongings after living there for sixteen years. But he was doing it. He was going to a new place, not far from there, with his wife and soon-to-be-child. That apartment was going to Sheldon and Amy that wanted to make sure the couch with stay with them. Apartment 4B was going to Raj that finally married an Indian woman so he had the money from his parents back - after his mother talked with his dad about it - which meant he could stay with the apartment making Sheldon feeling better since he wouldn't have to meet new neighbors.

Taking the last box out of the door, Leonard looks to the apartment he was leaving behind. The end of an era. The beginning of a new one. He turns around, ready to leave when he finds Sheldon standing right behind him.

"What do you want?" Leonard asks, surprised with his best friend's appearance and almost dropping the box on his hands.

"I wanted to give you something." Sheldon said, with a little smile on his face, unnoticed by Leonard.

"Can't it wait until I'm settled in my new house?"

Sheldon thinks for a moment before answering. "It can, but I want to give you this _now_."

"Fine!" Leonard sighs and puts the box on the floor, immediately putting his hands on his pants pockets.

Sheldon hands him a little box, wrapped in wrapping paper.

"What is this?" Leonard asks, curiosity settling in while he shakes the box trying to identify the object.

"Open it!" Sheldon basically demands, with a bigger smile now, not going unnoticed by Leonard this time.

Opening the box, Leonard sees a little train.

Sheldon notices Leonard's questioning look so he starts explaining.

"I remember when I was a small child of playing with trains. It brought peace and calm to a crazy and chaotic world. I am aware that not every child is like me, but I want you to know that even though I don't enjoy children that much, and I don't like to touch them, I'll do my best with yours."

Leonard smiles at Sheldon. "Why are you giving me a train?"

"It's not for you, it's for you to give your child. I want that child to grow up in a happy and peaceful environment unlike you. I understand now that my childhood was incredible and it's rare for children to have what I had. If you are as amazing parent as you are as a friend to me, that kid is so lucky to have you. I know I am really lucky that I met you. Thank you." Sheldon said and, uncharacteristically, he had tears in his eyes that he took away by hugging Leonard.

"You're welcome, buddy. And thank you for letting me stay here all those years ago." Leonard said, cleaning his own tears and smiling at the person he considered like a brother.

"Well, you did pass all the tests with flying colors."

After that, the two brothers went to the car where Leonard drove to his new home, with his old apartment in mind and in heart.

 _Present-2026_

They got home, both Leonard and Penny. Their little one was asleep in Leonard's arms and was quickly put to bed after changed into her pajamas, leaving her parents to talk in the living room.

"Leonard, about tonight, about what you said to Sheldon."

"Penny, forget about it. Okay? I'm sorry I said it." Leonard said turning slightly away from his wife. He knew the whole process was being hard on her, and every little thing that happened would make her freak her out.

"No, I don't want to forget. It's true, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Leonard asks, not really understanding what was going on in his wife's head.

"You _are_ dying. I only got to that point where I understood that I'm losing you when you said that to Sheldon. Until then, I was just living my life like you were just with the flu or something like that, you know. But, you might not be there tomorrow or next week. And I need to live with the possibility that one day I might come home and you're not there. You're not there to hug me after a long day, kiss my forehead and tell me _everything will work out._ You won't be there. Just the thought of it, terrifies me. I'm not ready to lose you, Leonard. I don't think I will ever be ready. But I have to, don't I?" Penny vented. She was holding this inside of her for quite some time, and she was, for the first time in her life, actually terrified she was losing him. Every other time, like when he was with Prya or other girls, she at least had a chance to have him back. But this time it wasn't that easy.

"Penny, no one will ever be prepared to lose someone. Do you think, do you _honestly_ think, I am ready to leave you and Maya? Because I'm not. I love the two of you more than anything. I want to grow old with you and take care of our grandkids. I want to have more babies with you and walk our daughter down the aisle. But I won't have time for that. Like you said, I might not be here tomorrow."

"You won't be here tomorrow?" A sweet voice asks, and Leonard instantly regrets saying that. He now has a wife crying waterfalls of tears and a terrified daughter that thinks her daddy might not take her to school the next day.

"Sweetie." Leonard says, getting to his daughter and taking her into his arms. He wraps her in a big bear hug, like he was protecting her from the harms of the world.

 _You are one of the harms of her world. You are the one that might leave her life in any moment._ Leonard thinks.

She stays there for a while, just getting held by her dad, possibly for the last time. She doesn't want to lose him, but she will.

That family was falling apart, and there was nothing anyone could do. The treatments Leonard was doing weren't working, the only thing they were doing were making Leonard more tired. There was no light in the end of the tunnel, only death.

Leonard goes to put his daughter back to bed. As he was turning the light off, Maya calls for him.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?" Leonard asks, with that sweet voice he used on her and her mother.

"Are you taking me to school tomorrow?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?"

"Because of what you told mommy. There's a chance you might not be here tomorrow."

"Don't worry, sweetie. I will." He lied. He had no idea of what would happen during the night, but he knew he would always live in her heart.

But the next morning he was there. Until he wasn't.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 11**

This was an interesting chapter to write, actually. It took me awhile to think about what to write, but once I figured that out, it took me like half an hour to write and another half hour to edit. A couple of days later, here it was. The chapter!

I should probably go and write something for my other stories but I'm having terrible writers block, so if any of you have any ideas for those stories, I'm all ears! :)

'till next time!


	12. Birth

**Word Count** : _820  
_ **Disclaimer:** _I don't own The Big Bang Theory or the characters._

* * *

 **[** _Leonard's POV_ **]**

 ** _[_** _03_ ** _-_** _10_ ** _-_** _2019_ ** _]_**

We looked at each other for a long time, trying to understand what was going on. We said nothing to each other during that time, but all we didn't say, meant more than any words that could've come out of our mouths.

We looked at each and all the moments we spent together came back to us as if the building was coming down on us. Nothing was said, but everything was understood.

We looked at each other one last time, and that was when we smiled.

"Here you go. A healthy little girl. Have you chosen a name?" The doctor comes with our daughter, a beautiful and healthy baby girl, half me, half my wife. A baby that was going to grow up to be an amazing woman. Until then, she was going to be loved and protected by everyone around her.

We look at each other for one split second. After all those arguments about the baby's name, that one look said it all.

"Maya Amelia Hofstadter," I say, and the doctor just smiles before handing our daughter to us.

She makes a cute sound that makes both me and my wife smile. She's so adorable!

It's only much later that our friends are allowed in, and when we tell them what name we chose, Amy hugs me – she doesn't hug Penny because my wife is too busy holding our daughter.

"You named her after me?" She asks, all the emotions she was feeling clear in her voice, and I just nod with a big smile on my face, one that doesn't seem to want to leave my face.

"Of course. You're her godmother after all."

Everyone is surprised by that – for some reason –, and Penny and I just laugh at their faces. Sheldon's reaction was even better, once he found out he was the godfather. Everyone takes their turn holding Maya, but Sheldon passed it.

"I'm not touching her until she takes a bath in Purell."

I still hand him, my daughter, carefully placing her in his arms. He stares at her for a moment before turning to me.

"She's cute. Congratulations."

I don't think I ever smiled so much in a day. Hearing those words from him made the best day of my life even better. I just nod and try to get her off his arms. He allows me to do so because even though she's cute, that doesn't mean he wants to hold her for much longer.

When the day ended, my family and I were together in the tiny hospital bed, our baby in my arms, my wife next to me. I can't wait to be doing this again. At least two more times, so that we can have the three kids that Raj told us about a few years ago. But until then, I'll enjoy this moment, and wish for my daughter to never grow up.

I'll promise her one day, that daddy is going to protect her. It's my job. And I'll do my best to keep that promise. Because ever since I found out that Penny was pregnant, that I've loved this child. And I'll keep doing so until the day that I am no longer here.

I now that in the next weeks, there will be visitors to meet little Maya, such as Penny's parents and siblings and maybe even Mary and my father. My mother will come, of course, so I'm already waiting for her to tell me something that I'll definitely not do. I don't want my daughter to grow up like me. Maybe my brother and sister will show up and give me some tips on how to take care of her since they both have children of their own.

But until those people appear, I'll take at this moment, let my mind film it so that I can replay it later. All the anxiety from before evaporated the moment I saw her, the moment that I first met her. Now, I feel calm, and the silence from the room where my wife and child are sleeping in makes me wonder how my next nights will be like. Hopefully, she's a quiet baby, unlike Halley and Michael.

Maybe Sheldon and Amy will want to help out since they're the godparents. They are our best friends, they were our first choice. That way, it might make Sheldon feel more comfortable around babies or kids in general, so that whenever he becomes a father himself, he's ready for it.

With that in mind, I put my baby in her bed and go back to bed next to my wife, but a place where I still see my daughter. I don't see her for much longer, because my eyes become heavier and heavier, and I end up closing them. Tomorrow is a brand new day, and new challenges will appear. I need to sleep to be ready for them.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 12**

After a long break from publishing anything in this story, I decided to try. I think I never "said" who Maya's godparents were, or what her middle name was, so here it is. I have no idea when the next chapter will come up, or if I'll ever finish this story. I have too many stories in progress and I don't think I'll finish them until the show ends. I might just leave them like that.

Hope you all like this chapter.


	13. An Album

**Word Count:** _1030_  
 **Summary** : _Memories from an album._  
 **Disclaimer** : _I don't own The Big Bang Theory or the characters._

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Sitting in the old chair that used to be his, brought to their new house from that old apartment where so many memories were created, she opens an album.

In the first page was a photo of them at their wedding, the second one. She remembers that day like it was yesterday, even though it was over ten years ago. She smiles fondly as she remembers him, the way he looked in his suit, the way his smile reached his eyes, or even the way his body felt against hers as they danced.

A single tear fell from her eye, so she decided to move to another photo.

The next one was at the Halloween party of 2018. It was taken by Raj, she recalls. She laughs now at their little fight of whether she remembered their first kiss or not. Oh! how she wishes to have another kiss from him, it didn't matter if it was the first or last. Just another kiss.

The next one was taken the day Maya was born. The happiest smile she had ever seen on her husband, was that day. Actually, it was every day ever since that little girl was born. The way he talked to Maya was something she will always remember, the sweetness in his voice, the promises to try and be better than his own parents. Her face is now covered in tears, ones she doesn't even try to take away.

The rest of the pictures were from Maya. The day she said her first words, when she took her first steps by herself – in the picture at least his one of the parents, and in the one where Maya is walking, it's clear that momma bear is behind her daughter waiting for her to fall into her arms. She remembers Leonard smiling and telling their daughter to walk to daddy, the way her chubby arms moved with her body, the way her husband took Maya into his arms, being the proudest dad in the world.

She saw the photos of her husband in that album, photos that reminded her of how amazing of a father, friend and husband he was. How she wasn't half the parent he was, and how Maya lost her father at such a young age without being able to say a proper goodbye. How she wasn't even able to look at her daughter without wanting to cry, because she was so much like her father.

The tears were coming faster and faster, and the air wasn't coming to her lungs anymore. She was suffocating, her hands in her throat, rocking herself in that chair. Pictures of him were appearing in her mind, the way he held her hand or warmed her feet at night. Thinking at how cold she was during the night, how she searched for a warmth that the covers just couldn't give her.

She cried for herself, for losing her husband, she cried for her daughter, for losing her father. She cried for his friends, for his parents, for her parents, she cried for everyone that ever crossed paths with that amazing man. She cried for all the memories she so desperately tried to forget about and at the same time clung to them so hard. She cried for everything, for the little time she had with him, for the time she lost, for the time she didn't get because she was afraid of commitment. She cried.

She cried as much as she could until her lungs gave out, until her body was no longer able to produce the tears she had so desperately tried to hold for herself for months.

And when she stopped crying, she laid down. She laid down, thinking of how he would wake her up in the morning with kisses, she could practically hear his laugh. The way she woke up with her husband and daughter's giggles as Leonard tickled their little baby.

She knew she had to be strong, strong for herself, strong for Maya. She had to fill in for the spot Maya lost, but those were some big shoes to fill. Shoes that should be worn only by one person, a person that wasn't there anymore.

And that made her mad. Mad at the world, mad at herself. Mad at everyone except for the one she lost and for the little girl she didn't seem to be able to look at anymore. It wasn't her fault, but somehow it was how Penny made it seem.

She got up from that couch and took the album into her arms. She held it close to her heart for a few moments until she decided to take it to its place. It was placed in a high shelf, away from her eyes, away from her daughter.

Even though placing that item away from her wouldn't change anything, it was for the best. She would never forget him, there was too many memories of him wherever she went.

And another thing it would never change was the way her daughter no longer laughed or smiled as she entered the house, or even hug her mom. And it was that kind of thing that made Penny even more upset with the world. Because that little girl that used to be so happy, wasn't happy anymore. She was just there, living her life hoping that it was all just a big misunderstanding or a nightmare. Just like her mom was doing, every morning when she woke up. She hoped that it was a nightmare and that her husband was next to her and would hold her, let her cry in his chest, making her believe he was alive.

But he wasn't.

And that was always going to be something that made Penny miserable.

The fact that he wasn't there. With his family and friends. That their daughter just didn't arrive home with a gigantic smile on her face because daddy was there, and so was mommy. She was just… there. And just being there isn't something an eight year old should do. An eight year old should laugh and dance like nobody was watching.

 _Things Maya no longer did._

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 **The End**

I remembered this story, so I decided to post another chapter of how Penny felt with the death of the love of her life. I mixed a bit of how Maya was as well, because she's one of my favorite OC's.

Hope everyone likes this chapter!


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